


So An Overworked Law Student With Relationship Problems Walks Into a Bar...

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: I'm really sorry I have no idea what this is, M/M, bartender!AU, slight destiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-13
Updated: 2013-08-13
Packaged: 2017-12-23 09:15:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/924600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So, an overworked law student with relationship problems walks into a bar and meets the love of his life.</p>
<p>No, wait, scratch that.</p>
<p>It actually went something like this:</p>
            </blockquote>





	So An Overworked Law Student With Relationship Problems Walks Into a Bar...

**Author's Note:**

> This fic, believe it or not, has been sitting in my drafts folder at my tumblr account for who knows how long and it's only now I've managed to finish it. It's unbeta-ed, all mistakes are mine, any plotholes are mine and everything else that is not up to standard are also mine. 
> 
> A little bartender AU for you guys. I've hit major writer's block with my other fic, Heaven on Earth, and spurting out one-shots is how I cope. 
> 
> Con-crit welcome :) Enjoy my lovelies.

So, an overworked law student with relationship problems walks into a bar and meets the love of his life.

No, wait, scratch that.

It actually went something like this:

The first time Sam walked into the bar, he and Jessica just had their very first fight in their relationship. Sam glumly admitted to himself that it probably wouldn’t be the last either. Sam wonders what the hell caused their picture-perfect romance to form cracks, and as he enters the first establishment he sees, he thinks he knows why.

And no, it’s not because of meeting someone else. Well, okay, maybe it is, but we’re getting to that.

Sam is currently in his second year of law school at Stanford and the pressure was getting to him. He and Jessica had gotten their own place back when they were still undergrads but these days he was rarely at home, what with school and the two jobs he was holding down. Jessica was working her ass off as a humble news writer for the L.A. Times, and the stress of her job, coupled with the fact that Sam was barely even home probably served as a catalyst and they blew up in each other’s faces. Jessica was mad, Sam was mad, they were both spitting at each other and it ended with Sam walking out the door with a dramatic slam and walking towards the nearest bar.

He knew he handled it poorly, but the notion he had that they were the perfect couple was shattered. Sam had known that they would eventually fight like all the other couples do. He just didn’t expect it to happen so soon, and in his second year of law school too, where tensions were high and Sam was a ticking time bomb.

"Well, you look like you’re having a shitty day." An amused voice intoned, prompting Sam to look up into the golden, amber eyes of the bartender. The guy was short, probably around 5’8" which, considering Sam’s towering 6’4", was pretty short. His brown hair was flecked with blond highlights and was slicked back with probably a shit ton of product that made Sam’s hands feel sticky just thinking about it. 

"Excuse me?" 

"I can fell the depression riding off you in waves. As the bartender-slash-owner of this fine establishment, I feel that it is my duty to tell you that you must stop, as the other patrons are getting sad because of you."

"Well they can damn well mind their own business, okay?" Sam snapped. 

The bartender stepped back, raising his hands as if to defend himself. ”No need to get snippy. I’m simply concerned.”

"Well you can show that concern by bringing me a beer. Please." 

"Sure thing." And he winked before handing Sam a nice, cold bottle of Heineken. "So, wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." Sam admitted. 

The bartender picked up a glass and started wiping it with a clean cloth. “Lemme guess. You had a fight with your girlfriend and she threw you out and now you’re going to drown yourself in alcohol and wake up tomorrow in a ditch somewhere, robbed, naked and cold. Am I close?” 

Sam let out a wry chuckle at that. ”Close, but not quite. We had a fight…our first fight actually. We just kinda blew up at each other. The stress was getting to us, what with me in law school and holding down like two jobs, and her working her ass off to support us and paying the bills. I just went out to give her a bit of time to herself and to clear my head.”

The bartender said nothing as Sam polished off his beer and put a five down on the counter. ”Thanks for the beer.”

"No problem. And good luck with your girlfriend, by the way. You’re welcome back here anytime you need a listening ear. I read somewhere that eight out of ten individuals love to have strangers listen to their sob stories and their romantic problems." 

"Oh, is that so?" Sam asked, a smile making its way to his face. 

"Oh absolutely. And seven out of then love unloading it all to bartenders." The guy added with a solemn nod of his head.

Sam chuckled, his problems momentarily forgotten. ”Thanks, man.” 

Just as he turned to leave, he paused and looked at the bartender again. ”I’m sorry, I’m such a rude human being. I’m Sam Winchester.” He held his hand out.

The bartender smirked and shook it. ”Gabriel. They call me Gabriel.”

~~~~

That one meeting led to two, then three, four, five and soon, Sam was a regular at the bar, often found talking to the amber-eyed bartender called Gabriel. When Sam wasn’t working or studying or having his latest spat with Jess, he would find himself walking over and seeing Gabriel. Sam excused his behavior under the guise of needing someone to talk to. Gabriel always listened despite the occasional crude joke here and there, and Sam found it easy talking to him and unloading all his problems. He was spending less time with Jess and more time with Gabriel.

And oddly enough, it didn’t even seem to faze him.

"We’re going on a trip." Sam had announced one night, and Gabriel paused in wiping the counter top to raise an eyebrow. 

"Oh yeah? You and…?"

"Jess and I." Sam said with a sheepish grin. "We figured maybe spending the weekend together would bring back that spark and help us stop fighting. Well, she said it. I just sorta went along."

"Really?" There was an underlying tone in Gabriel’s voice, but Sam was a bit too tipsy to care. "And where are you going?"

"Disneyland!" Sam replied with a huge grin. "We leave Friday afternoon and return here Sunday night."

"Oh." Gabriel plastered a huge grin on his face. "Well then, I hope you two lovebirds have fun. I guess I won’t be seeing you this weekend, huh?"

"Huh." Sam huffed, as if he was just realizing it. "I guess."

"Oh woe is me!" Gabriel wailed dramatically, clutching his chest. "How will I survive the weekend without seeing your pretty face and being a relationship counselor for you?"

Sam punched him lightly on the arm. ”Jerk. I hate you, Gabe.”

The nickname earned Sam a mega watt grin that brightened up the dark room, and to the law student, it was the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen.

~~~~

It was Saturday afternoon and Gabriel was re-stocking the bottles of alcohol when Sam walked in, a stormy expression on his face. The tall man sat down at the bar and glared at an innocent bottle of vodka. Gabriel immediately removed the bottle from Sam’s line of sight just in case Sam did have super human vision and the bottle exploded. Gabriel didn’t like wasting good vodka, after all. ”What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but shouldn’t you be in Anaheim right about now, waiting in ridiculously long lines and wearing those cheesy Mickey Mouse hats?”

Sam grumbled. ”We turned back. Can’t even spend one damn weekend without blowing up at each other. Can I get a…” He trailed off, looking up at the various display of alcohol.

"A beer?" Gabriel offered.

"No, something stronger…scotch maybe…or bourbon." Sam mumbled before saying, "I’ll have a scotch. On the rocks."

Gabriel immediately poured him the best scotch they had.

"You going to be okay?" He asked Sam who looked up at him with big, sad eyes. Gabriel decided that then and there that that expression was not allowed on Sam’s face. Ever. If people thought the puppy dog look was powerful, they’ve never been on the receiving end of Sam’s dejected and sad puppy dog look. That face could melt the heart of the toughest politician. Sam could run for president and simply ask his contenders to step down all while training that look at him. And it could work.

"I don’t know man." Sam shrugged, acting aloof about it, but judging by the way he gripped the glass, Gabriel knew different. "Who knows? Maybe we’ve just hit a major bump in the road and things will eventually smooth out."

_Or maybe we’ll break up._ The sentence hung between them, making the silence more palpable than it seemed.

"Wanna talk about it?" Gabriel then asked. "What happened anyways?"

"I honestly don’t know. I was driving and we got to talking. I simply mentioned how we haven’t been spending much time together lately and she somehow insinuated that it was my fault and…" He trailed off. "Either way, it was nasty and she demanded we turn back. Didn’t say a word to each other either." 

The scotch sat untouched between them. Gabriel sighed as Sam barely touched the beverage, gave him a five for the trouble, and left.

~~~~

When Sam woke up late afternoon on a Saturday - the glorious day wherein he had no classes or work - he found the apartment empty. Jess had gone to work, leaving Sam with leftover lasagna in the fridge and a note that said she would be spending the night at her office. Sam crumpled the note and heated the lasagna in the microwave.

There was loud knock on the door and Sam paused mid-chew before getting up and opening the door. ”Dean?”

"Sammy!" At the door stood Sam’s older brother, Dean, who, last time Sam checked, was back in Kansas. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked, letting Dean inside.

"What, I can’t take a road trip to visit my little brother? I came to see how you were doing." 

"There are these things we call phones, Dean. They were made so you wouldn’t have to cross state lines to find out how someone was faring." Sam deadpanned, setting out another plate in case Dean was hungry. He was. 

"What, is it a crime to visit nowadays?" Dean shoveled lasagna into his mouth. "Hey, where’s Jess?"

"Work." Sam replied. "As always." 

Sam tried not to sound so dejected about that, but the silence that draped over them like a blanket proved that he did. Sam found it extremely suffocating and Dean was eyeing him, concern and curiosity plaguing his features.

"Little trouble in paradise, Sammy?" Dean finally asked. 

"I don’t know, Dean." Sam admitted. "I don’t know."

~~~~

Dean had demanded that both of them go out and paint the town red. While, he didn’t say it in those exact words, he had basically dragged Sam from his apartment and told him to point where the nearest bar was, and Sam, being the good little brother that he is, obediently led Dean to Gabriel’s bar.

Gabriel looked up when he heard the doors barge open and grinned when he saw who came in.

"Sammich!" He called out. Sam spotted him, smiled and…

…pulled an extremely attractive guy along with him. Oh.

"Hey, Gabe." Sam greeted him. 

"I thought you were going to work things out with Jess?" He asked, gesturing slightly to the handsome, green-eyed man beside Sam.

Sam tilted his head in confusion before his face heated up. ”Oh. Oh no we’re not…” He turned to Dean who was fighting back a laugh and failing miserable. ”Gabe, this is my older, more asinine brother (“Hey!”), Dean. Dean, Gabriel.”

Gabriel visibly relaxed then fixed the shit-eating grin on his face. ”What, is it bring-your-brother-to-work-day?” At the confused looks he got, Gabriel shouted “Castiel!” at the top of his lungs.

A dark-haired man with the most impossibly blue eyes approached them. ”What is it, Gabriel?”

"Some guys I want you to meet. These are the Winchesters. That’s Sam," Sam waved at Castiel with a smile on his face. "and that’s Dean."

"Hello, Sam. Hello, Dean." Castiel greeted, barely giving Sam a second glance but stared curiously at Dean. Dean returned the stare and Sam looked between them, clearly uncomfortable.

"Hey, Sammoose," Gabriel called his attention and gestured for him to follow. He gladly left Dean with Castiel. They seemed to be getting along, he mused, judging by the impromptu staring contest they were holding.

"Yeah?" He approached Gabriel who was pulling darts off the board. 

"Nothing. Just figured you wouldn’t want to be caught between that." Gabriel gestures back to Cas and Dean and even within just minutes of meeting each other, Sam can make out the tell-tale signs of sexual tension forming. He wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of the night, Dean would be carrying a small slip of paper with Cas’ number. 

He and Gabriel played billiards for the rest of the night and Sam found himself having more fun with Gabriel than with Jess. He also found himself staring at Gabriel, with his wide smile and his slick hair and sparkling golden eyes and his overall childish behavior that never failed to annoy, amuse and endear him all at the same time. 

He also realized that maybe, just maybe, he was a teensy bit, probably, somehow in love with Gabriel.

When that thought hit him, he accidentally ripped through the green surface of the pool table and the words “oh shit” echoed in his head.

Sam apologized profusely and even offered to pay for the damages. Gabriel insisted it was fine but Sam didn’t like the gleam in his eyes.

~~~~

It was two in the morning and one of the perks of being the bartender-slash-owner of your own bar was that you can close whenever you damn well please. That, and the bar’s been empty since twelve that night and Gabriel didn’t expect to see any other customers.

Well, until Sam came stumbling towards him and reeking of alcohol. The guy held a half-finished bottle of scotch in his hand and appeared to have been crying.

"Sam?"

"We broke up." 

The words slammed into Gabriel’s mind and almost immediately, he unlocked the door and hustled Sam inside. With great difficulty, he sat Sam down in one of the booths and took the bottle away from him. ”Okay, tell me what happened.”

Sam looked morosely up at him and Gabriel resisted the urge to just wrap his arms around the other man and whisper words of comfort to him. ”It’s okay, kiddo. I’m not gonna judge you.”

All of a sudden, Gabriel had a lapful of Sam kissing the living daylights out of him. For a moment, he forgot what he was supposed to do and started kissing back just as fiercely. 

Kissing Sam was like…dark chocolate. In Gabriel’s muddled mind, it wasn’t his best analogy, but it would do. Kissing Sam was sweet at first, but left a bitter aftertaste. And just like that, a switch turned on in Gabriel’s mind and he hastily pulled away, pushing Sam back and keeping him at arm’s length. 

"What’s wrong? Did I screw up?" The look of pure rejection on Sam’s face made Gabriel’s already-rapidly hammering heart double speed. 

"No, no you didn’t screw up, Sam. It’s just…I was taken by surprise." He took a deep breath. "Sam, you’re drunk. You don’t want this."

"But I do." Sam said, hands pawing at Gabriel’s shirt. "I want this. I want you."

"You’re not thinking straight." Gabriel replied, hands grabbing Sam’s wrists. "You’ll regret this in the morning and I’m not about to take advantage of you when you’re in this state."

Sam sagged in his hold and hung his head. Gabriel inched closer to him and tilted his chin up. ”Hey, it’s not that I don’t like you. I do.” He took another deep breath. ”I love you, in fact, ever since you came wandering into my bar that first time. But I’m not going to sleep with you when you’re this drunk and just freshly broken up with.”

Sam still didn’t say anything, and Gabriel cursed himself for putting the sad look on Sam’s face. ”Tell you what, kiddo. Let’s go to my apartment. It’s just across the road. Then tomorrow, when you’ve gotten your head screwed on straight and if you can remember any of this, I’m willing to talk about this. About us. That okay?”

Sam stared at him, as if searching for any signs that Gabriel was lying, before nodding. ”Okay.” He replied, an uncharacteristically small voice for a six-foot-four man. 

Together, they hobbled to Gabriel’s apartment, with Gabriel supporting most of Sam’s weight. He immediately deposited Sam in his bed, pulling off his shoes and tucking him in. Before he left, Gabriel pressed a soft kiss to Sam’s forehead and ran his fingers through his long, floppy brown hair. ”G’night, Sam. See you in the morning.” 

Sam’s eyes glazed over and slowly, sleep overcame him. Gabriel stared at him for a moment before closing the door behind him.

~~~~

When Sam first woke up, he realized that a) he wasn’t in his bed and b) he has a hangover the size of Detroit. 

The next thing he realized was that he wasn’t in his house. He blearily looked around for a moment before last night’s events came crashing back into him like a heavy-duty bulldozer.

The break up, the slow, downward spiral into a drunken state, the pathetic waddling up to Gabriel’s bar, Gabriel, kissing Gabriel —

—oh. shit. 

Sam wished the earth could open up and swallow him whole. He had, for lack of better term, drunkenly confessed to Gabriel that he liked him more than he should and he let Gabriel carry his drunken ass into his home and _on his bed._

 

He flopped back down onto the pillows and his nose was assaulted with a slight, citrus-y scent with chocolate woven into it. He idly wonders if that’s how Gabriel smells like. It wasn’t a bad scent and Sam finds himself imagining being curled up to Gabriel and inhaling that wonderful scent. 

Yep, he’s got it bad.

And in precisely five seconds, he’s going to throw up so he rushes into another door, which thankfully, was the bathroom and proceeded to dispose of his stomach contents into the toilet. 

"My god, how much have you had to drink last night?"

Sam looked up to see Gabriel standing by the door, an amused smirk on his face but his eyes were shining with concern. Sam tried to glare at him, but, if Gabriel’s chuckle was anything to go by, it wasn’t working.

"I wanna die." He moaned into the toilet seat. 

Gabriel sighed before helping the larger man into a sitting position. He grabbed a bottle of pills from the counter and presented Sam with a large glass of water. ”Here. Aspirin should help. There’s freshly brewed coffee. How do you take it?”

"Excuse me?"

"The coffee? How do you take it?"

Sam seemed to think for a moment as if he actually forgot how he takes his morning coffee. In all actuality, it depended on his mood. If he was feeling bright and sunny, one cream and one sugar would do. Right now, he was feeling absolutely shitty so “Three creams, four sugars.” 

"Hiding a bit of a sweet tooth there, Sambo?" 

"Shut up." 

Gabriel chuckled. ”Alright, up you get.” He said, once Sam swallowed down an aspirin and chugged the water down. He led the taller man back into the bed and pulled the covers on top of him. He left the room and came back a few minutes later with a stack of pancakes and coffee steaming in a mug. 

"Thank you." Sam murmured as he tucked into his breakfast. He grabbed the mug and chugged the coffee down, letting the sweet nectar flow into his throat and settle into a pool of warmth at the bottom of his stomach. 

Gabriel regarded him for a moment before finally speaking up. ”Sam, do you remember what happened last night?” 

Sam paused, staring at him for a moment before: “We kissed, right?” 

"Do you remember anything else after that?" Gabriel pressed on.

"You said you loved me, didn’t you?" Sam asked. 

"Guilty." 

"But…why?"

Gabriel looked bewildered. ”Why, what?”

"Why do you love me?"

Gabriel regarded him for a moment before bursting into laughter. Sam glared at him. ”It’s not that funny!”

"Sorry! It’s just…out of all the questions you could’ve asked, you asked that?" Gabriel said in between guffaws as he tried to stop laughing. "You wanna know why? Cause when you walked into my bar that first time looking like a kicked puppy, I wanted nothing more than to wrap my arms around you and hiss at the person who made you look that way. The question I wanna ask you is if you meant everything you said last night."

Sam’s eyes were downcast. ”I…”

"Sam?"

Sam forced himself to look up and gaze into Gabriel’s golden eyes. Holy shit, were they always this beautiful? In an instant, Sam saw it. Like a damn movie playing out in his head. He saw Gabriel and himself, and how well they fit and why the fuck had Sam denied himself this for so long? He was content with Jessica and Sam knew it. With Gabriel he was different. He was happy. Emotions flooded his chest and the answer was clear, despite the haze of his hangover. With that, he put the mug down on the bedside table and looked back at the other man. Sam licked his lips before moving forward and pressing them onto Gabriel’s.

This kiss, in the cold light of morning told Gabriel everything he needed to know. Sam’s lips moved slowly, hesitantly, as if he was treading thin ice but Gabriel moved closer, deepening the kiss. He cupped Sam’s face, and licked his way into Sam’s mouth, mapping out the teeth with his tongue. After a moment, Sam pulled away gently and rested their foreheads together. They breathed slowly, Gabriel staring into Sam’s hazel-blue eyes (as if that was even a color, but there was no color in the universe that could describe Sam’s eyes). Sam gave him a small smile and reached up to hold Gabriel’s hand.

"Was that an answer enough for you?"

Gabriel chuckled and pressed their lips together again.

_Yes._


End file.
